My Saturday

I had great intentions of several posts today but that plan got derailed when I got a phone call from someone who wanted to see our house. You see, we have had our house for sale by owner for the last several months. My original plan when we first stuck the sign in the yard was to always have the house in good enough shape to be "show ready" within 30 minutes. Well today I had a 3.5 hour heads up before the showing and I worked my tail end off to the very last second.
Although I have no idea the true interest of the lookers, their scheduled showing was just the kick I needed to get the house back in order. I am soooo excited that the house work is caught up so tomorrow I can actually, maybe, get a Sunday nap! The thought just makes me smile!

Now if only The Grocery Game would post I could go ahead and get the grocery shopping knocked out! I do love Kroger on a Saturday night!

Thompson Family Vacation

I wanted to take just a few moments of Scrapbook Saturday to document a few pictures and memories of our recent ski trip.


My sweet parents took our family along with them on their annual ski trip to Durango Colorado.

Although skiing is not what I would call a "relaxing" vacation we did have a great time. And it is always great to get away from the normal routine of life. I was amazed how easy it was to get in bed at a "decent" hour with no laundry to fold, bills to pay, house to clean, etc. And it was awesome to have a set of extra hands to help with the boys!

This was our 4 year olds first time to ski. I was sooooo proud of him! Although skiing didn't come natural to him by any means, he had the best attitude and was always excited to pick himself off the snow and try again.

My favorite Colby story of the trip happened on our last day as we were turning in our ski rentals. I had told Colby he could get a souvenir to help him remember his first ski trip. Well, he found this hat that he claimed was the softest, most special hat in the whole world. Now mind you there was NOTHING unique about this hat, in fact I think I saw a similar one at Walmart before we left for our trip. But to Colby there was no better hat. No exaggeration- he talked about his hat for a good solid hour. He was so enthusiastic about the hat the manager of the store gave us an additional 20% off the hat- because he had never seen someone who has ever appreciated a hat quite like my son. Everyone in our family has since spent time touching, holding, and even petting the hat. Colby plans on wearing his hat year round and eventually passing "the hat" on to his children.


This picture shows DH with the leash device he created to help Colby down the mountain. The leash is actually DH shirt tied to the Belt in Colby's pants. Most of the time they stayed on the bunny slopes, but the second day after ski school DH and my parents decided to take Colby up the big mountain- big mistake. DH practically had to carry Colby down from the mountain. At one point DH let go of Colby and my Dad ended up doing the splits trying to catch him before he shot down the mountain. When DH tried to help PaPa back up he got twistered up and fell down too. My Mom tells me that Colby looked at Papa and Daddy as they were laying in the snow and said very mater of factly "Now why did you want to take me up this big mountain?"

This is a picture of DH and I on top of the world. I will say that this was one of my favorite skiing experiences. In the past, I have been overly cautious on the slopes but for some reason this trip I was able just to relax and enjoy the ride down.



Although Cohen did not ski, I think he had a good time. Let me tell you that boy was a complete angel on the flight to Durango- I was soo proud of him. His Gammy (my mom) watched Cohen the first day to allow me a day of skiing, I watched Cohen the second day, and then on the last day we brought him out to the mountain so he could enjoy the snow.



I would like to take a brief moment to apologize to the people of flight 6046 from Durango. Cohen was cutting teeth in the midst of this flight and was wailing pretty much the first 45 minutes of the trip. You could feel the tension rising among the passengers as I tried every trick in the book to calm him down. By the time he finally tuckered out I was broken out in a nervous sweat and on the verge of a panic attack- fun times.

My mom took this picture, and although she did not mean to cut our heads off, I thought it would be appropriate for the blog. Go here to see my family picture policy.

Once again, I would like to thank my parents for sponsoring such a wonderful vacation.

Deal Alert

Go here to print a $1.50 off 1 4-pack coupon for yo plus yogurt. This is the yoplait equivalent to the Dannon Activia Yogurt. It is often on sale at Kroger for $2 so it could make for a pretty sweet deal. Remember each computer can print off 2 coupons.

Let me know if the link doesn't work!

Lint revisited

Sorry to make you go here again, BUT I went to Best Buy to buy a thingy so I could start posting pictures again, so I HAVE to show you the lint that I wrote about earlier this week!

PS I saw Emily's battle scars today from her own lint war- pretty gruesome looking knuckles!

The bristly thing you see diving into the lint trap was my first weapon.

This picture is my attempt to show you an inside shot of the lint trap. What you can't see is that the lint goes down to the base of the dryer making it impossible to reach with the human hand. Please note- the lint screen, that we all have been taught to clean after every load, was already removed before I took this picture. Otherwise, it would have been neatly slid into the slot hiding all evidence of the lint buildup below.

Now most of the lint was immediately discarded into the trashcan, but a few stragglers ended up in the barrel of the dryer- made for a fun clean up after the delinting process.



This was a picture of my final weapon. That is a swiffer cloth taped to a bent hanger. I think I'll market this tool and make millions.

And there you have it.

I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I have become the type of person that takes pictures of her lint and then has a two part documentation of the process- oh well! Surely I'm not the first.......right?!

Taco Roll- Illustrated!

Ok, as promised here are the step by step pictures of how to assemble the taco roll! The fact that Kroger was out of the reduced fat Pillsbury crescent rolls makes me think a lot of you might be waiting for these pictures!

While your beef is browning, open up your package of crescent rolls. They will break into two sections and then you can peel off the triangles

Lay out triangles in a circle, pointy sides out, around a pizza pan

Once beef is browned and taco season is added, spread beef out around thick part of triangles.

Finally, fold triangle points over. Place in preheated oven at 375 degrees. Bake until golden. Serve with lettuce, salsa, reduced fat sour cream, and jalapeno peppers.

Nutrition Information for just the taco roll (does not include fixins)

Serving Size: 1 triangle

Meal Plan: Calories: 155; 1 starch; 1.5 lean meats

My Car- Conclusion

With Dave's motto in mind, "Live like no one else, so I can live like no one else," my attitude toward "my car" changed. All of the sudden I no longer was ashamed of "the car" but felt a sense of pride in what "my car" stood for. After all how many people can say they get a work-out from driving their car. And I wouldn't have to worry about running over any stray animals because my car was courteous enough to send out a warning siren anytime it went into reverse. My moments of no air conditioning made me grateful for the times the air was blowing and was a good reminder of how blessed we are to be living in a home that provided a respite from the heat, unlike some families across the globe. And no radio or CD player on my 45 minute commute to work meant some awesome prayer time. Plus when do you think I dreamed up the idea of DRS! But never was I more excited about "my car" then when I was at the gas pump. Now instead of paying close to $100 per week in gas I was paying closer to $15 per week! Woo Hoo!

Currently, I think I'm about 6 months out from having enough money saved up to buy a nice respectable four-door car. In the meantime, I feel so grateful for "my car"- not only does it faithfully get me to where I need to go, it has humbled my vehicle snobbishness, and taught me a great lesson in contentment.
If you would like to have this expereince, "my car" will be available to purchase in about 6 months :) Start saving today!

Deal Alert- Kroger

Initially I got real excited when I opened up the Kroger Weekly flyer and saw they were having a case sale. I had never been a part of a case sale before and thought I was in for some exciting deals. However, after looking through the ad I realized that for many of the items I would be better off buying the product individually with coupons vs in a case and only being allowed to use one coupon.

The items that looked most attractive to me were:

The 12 pack of Kroger Peanut Butter for $12
Final Price: $1 per jar
I'll be sure to look at the nutrition label first to look for Trans Fat before purchasing.

Kroger Everyday Towels for $3.99
Final Price: $0.67 per roll

Kroger Fancy Sharp, Mild Cheddar, 4 Cheese or Colby Jack Shredded Cheese for $18
Final Price: $1.50 per 8oz bag
I hate to pass up a sale on cheese but I did just stock up on Kraft 2% last week so I'll probably skip this one!

Kroger Water for $3.50
Final Price: Less than $0.15 per bottle

All the other case deals I feel I can get cheaper or for the same price at a later sale

Other Deals for the week:
Kroger Skim or 1% Milk on sale for $2.69 each (You can freeze milk, If you want to stock up)

Florida Strawberries on sale for $1.99 each

General Mills Cereals (select varieties) on sale 3 for $5
There are tons of coupons available for GM cereals in your newspaper inserts, All You Magazine, and coupons.com

Ragu Pasta on sale for $1.69
Use $1 off 1 shortcuts coupon expires 2/7 (load on kroger card) and $0.50 off 2 coupon from 1/18 RP
Final Price: $0.69 each

Huggies Jumbo Diapers or Pull-ups on sale $9.99
Use $1 off 1 cellfire coupon (kroger card), $1.50 off 1 Shortcut coupon and $1.50 off 1 from 1/11 SS
Final Price: $5.99 (I think that will work)

Dial Hand Soap on sale $0.88
Use $0.35 off 1 from 1/4 SS (I couldn't find it but supposidly it is there)
Final Price: $0.18

For a more complete list of deals go here or see the Grocery Game list Sunday!

My Car- part 4

As I was saying... We vowed never to have a car payment again and, therefore, shortly after started the "car envelope." I won't lie, in the beginning weeks, and even months, of driving "the car" I complained.... a lot! After all, I do have a bad back, and do you know how hard it is to load and unload an infant carrier, complete with infant, in and out of a two door vehicle. Did I mention that this was in the dog days of summer and anytime my car would come to a stop (like at a stoplight or for a train crossing) the air conditioner would go out. Oh, and have you ever driven a standard with no power steering- talk about a work-out! I really think steering my car has contributed to my recent wrist problems. What about the high pitched squeal the car makes as it reverses out of the drive-way every morning? And talk about dangerous- a girl with a severe case of DRS should never drive alone in a car with no radio or CD player- way too much time in my own head!!! When do you think I dreamed up half of the DRS plan!

Well it was about month 4 of driving "the car" that I started reading Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover." Dave is a strong believer in the cash only system and lives by his motto "If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." In this book he tells his story about going from living a millionaire lifestyle down to bankruptcy and then how he rebuilt his fortune with Zero debt. Guess what that means- no car payment!! His story was just the fuel I needed to light my fire. Although I had been filling the car envelope for several months- from that point on it no longer felt like a sacrifice- But a MISSION!

His Mercies are New Every Morning!

Although some bad news can make your world seem like it is coming to a screeching hault, it is amazing the hope that a new day can bring. We appreciate everyone's prayers on behalf of baby girl Lenderman. I plan to try to catch up the deal alerts and finish the car story today but I will have to wait until this afternoon's nap time to get started. Thanks for your patience. And I really appreciate Jennifer and Carrie and others for leaving posts about deals around town yesterday- what a help!

Prayer Request- Blog on hold

I am asking that all of you please take just a minute to lift my brother and his wife up in prayer. They went in for their much anticipated 18 week ultrasound to find out the sex of their baby and the doctor found some anomalies with the babies head. A level 2 ultrasound has been ordered but they will have to wait until the 11th for the appointment. As you can imagine this has robbed a lot of joy from the two expectant parents and our family. I beg you to pray that God would work a miracle on their behalf. I am so hanging on to Emily's verse of the week.

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people.” Psalm 77:14

Please claim this verse for Randy and Christian and their little girl!

Please understand that I am going to take a break from the blog today to be with my family. I will finish up "my car" story tomorrow as well as any other deal alerts. Thanks again!

My car- part 3

"The car" was DH's travel vehicle. He had bought the car a couple of years back when he was doing a lot of traveling for work around the state. The car was a very used 1996, 200,000+ miles, 2-door Honda Civic he purchased for $2500. I was against this vehicle (I dubbed "the deathtrap") from the beginning. For starters it was a standard with no power steering; I literally had nightmares about DH traveling around the state trying to shift, talk on the phone, steer, and drink coffee all at the same time. The first week he had the car he got hit in the parking lot of a local restaurant- I just knew this was an omen of bad things to come. But he insisted the car was fine and that Honda's would run forever.

When we first put our SUV on the lot I agreed to drive "the car" on my long commutes but wouldn't think of driving "the deathtrap" on Mommy days. So hubby and I would switch vehicles back and forth throughout the week depending on which day it was and who was driving the boys. That only worked for a short period of time however, because I was constantly leaving things in one car when I needed it in the other, or DH would get a call from a renter and need the truck to haul off a heavy appliance while I had the truck out on an errand, etc. So, before long I found myself driving "the car" full time.

Meanwhile, our SUV sold! Talk about a miracle! We were extremely relieved to have the Sequoia off our hands, but we did end up taking a hit on the selling price. That experience made us both determined NEVER to be put in that situation again. We vowed from that moment on we would only pay cash for future vehicles! Thus my "car savings envelope" was created.

More to come.....

My car- part 2

Me and the Sequoia got along great, until..... Gas prices started knocking on $3.00 per gallon. For the first time since I got my drivers license, I became aware of gas prices and I had to think about the cost of driving from here to there. My 2 day a week 35 mile one-way commute began busting my "gas envelope" before I even got out of the second week of the month. I was having to steal gas money from the "grocery envelope" at a time when groceries were also going up in price. I began to panic! All of the sudden the idea of driving my family around in a compact fuel efficient car sounded very attractive. After all I grew up in an SUV free family, and I turned out fine. (no comments please)

I approached my DH with the idea of trading the Sequoia in for a car. While he agreed that a car could potentially save us a lot of money, he was also the voice of reason and stated that it would be nearly impossible to sell the SUV now- at least at a price that would not put us upside down on the loan. So we held on to the Sequoia...... that is, until gas prices started getting dangerously close to $4.00 per gallon. At that point we decided we had no choice but to try to sell and hope for the best. We ended up parking the Sequoia on a used car lot in my parent's town 2 hours away. The lot only charged $30 per month, got lots of traffic and it was far enough away that I couldn't be tempted to drive it anymore. "Lucky" for us my husband had 2 vehicles- His truck and "the car."

More to come after these short deal alerts.....

My Car-part one

I thought today might be the perfect day to tell you all about "my" car. The word "my" is in quotations because it has only been of late that I have finally come to accept that this car is not just a fling, a loaner, a temporary means of transportation, etc. .. No it is "my" car.

Now, I have never thought of myself as a car snob, I truly didn't think I cared how I got from here to there as long as I got there. I never noticed nor cared what others were driving- it made no difference to me. My husband had taught me many years ago that cars do nothing but depreciate in value and therefore we would never own a "new" vehicle- whatever, no biggy to me.

When it came time to purchase a "new to me" vehicle a couple of years ago my only request was that it be a SUV because "we couldn't possibly fit all of our family into a car if we needed to travel." My husband selected a 2004 Toyota Sequoia complete with leather seating, CD player, Sunroof, 3rd row seat, a cup holder for every passenger, and a "nice" monthly payment- I didn't complain!

To be continued.....

Annual Budget Countdown

Before my trip I went to Kroger and Walgreens. I temporarily lost my Walgreens gift card so I did use some of my budget money toward that purchase. I also went to Kroger tonight to get groceries for the remainder of the week. Here is how those trips went down:

Kroger pre-trip:
Total Spent: $32.59
Total Saved: $52.31 (that was fun!)

Walgreens pre-trip:
Total Spent: $7.52
Total Saved: $41.56

Kroger post-trip:
Total Spent: $38.95
Total Saved: $7.99 (only had 2 coupons!)

Total Spent for week: $79.06
Total Saved for wee: $101.86
Total Spent for Year: $501.29
Total Saved for Year: $477.53
Total Left for Year: $4498.71

Deal Alert- Walgreens

Don't forget to pick up the new February EasySaver Catalog that is at the front of the store near the weekly ad. Not only will you find some great Walgreens coupons that you can stack with your manufacture coupons you will also find a ton of Walgreens Rebate items.

The following are the Walgreens deals I am most excited about this week. I recommend joining The Grocery Game to see a complete list of sale items with coupon match-ups.

Bayer Breeze 2 Contour Meter on sale for $14.99; Use $30 off 1 coupon from 10/26 SS (coupon will adjust down) Final Price: FREE (I have thought about doing this and selling the meter on ebay- not sure I'll do it though)

Register Rewards RR

Clinical Right Guard or Dry Idea Deodorant on sale for $5.99 with a $5 RR for 1

Supposedly there is a $2 off 1 coupon inside the Right Guard Aerosol Spray to be used on next purchase. Final Price: $0.99 or Free after coupon

February Free after Rebate Items

This week only: Theraflu Warming Liquid or Packets on sale 2 for $10

Use 2 $2 off 1 coupons here and submit for $6 rebate in ES catalog when you buy 2

Final Price: FREE

Garnier Fructis Wonder Waves Shampoo, Conditioner or Styler up to $4.29

Use $1 off 1 from 1/4 RP

Final Price: Free plus $1 overage after coupon and rebate

Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer or Spa Foundation up to $10

Use $2 for 1 from 1/11 SS

Final Price: Free plus $2 overage after coupon and rebate

Revlon Creme Lip Gloss up to $10

Use $2 for 1 from 1/11 SS

Final Price: Free plus $2 overage after coupon and rebate

Thermacare Trial Size Neck, Shoulder and Wrist Heat Wrap up to $2.49

Final Price: Free after rebate

Walgreens Multi-Purpose No Rub Solution 4 oz up to $1.99

Final Price: Free after rebate

Zucol Cold Care Lozenges 18 pk up to $7.99

Use $2 for 1 from 2/1 SS

Final Price: Free plus $2 overage after coupon and rebate

Thrifty Thursday Accountability

Ok all you deal seekers let me know how your doing. Feel free to report any deals you have found this week, any great shopping trip experiences, your family's annual budget countdown or any financial plans to which you would like to be held accountable.

Thrifty Thursday

Today is an exciting day for Thrifty Thursday. Walgreens has it's new February EasySaver catalog out and boy were they generous with the free after rebate items this month.

I am also going to use today to introduce you to "my car." I felt today was appropriate because this week's zone cleaning focused on "my car" and it is a major part of my ultimate financial plan.

Pumpkin Pancakes- recipe modification

We ended up having the Pumpkin Pancakes tonight because it was something quick and easy and we had all the ingredients on hand. I did want to let you know that you will need to add some milk to the batter in addition to the milk called for in the Bisquick box recipe. Just add until the batter looks like normal pancake batter consistency. I also added ground flax seeds to the batter to beef up the fiber!

DRS- at its worst

We just got in late this afternoon from our vacation and guess what I did?

• I did not unpack. No some of the clothes are still sitting in suitcases.
• I did not do laundry. No that would have required unpacking.
• I did not open the mail that had piled up.
• I did not watch the DVRd episode of Biggest Loser
• I didn't even work on tomorrows Thrifty Thursday posts

No, instead of doing all those things that should have been done I instead opted to spend 2.5 hours of my life............................ Cleaning out the lint trap in my dryer!!!!

It's all Emily's fault! I decided to look through the comments left today and found Emily's comment for her daily Tidy Tuesday accountability report. She talked about how she had spent all afternoon cleaning out her lint trap and even gave some tips on how she did it. So in true DRS fashion I wanted to clean my lint trap too.

It started out harmless, I was just going to soak the pull-out lint screen in warm soapy water while I caught up on some blogging. But Emily had talked about cleaning out the lint underneath the lint pan so I thought I would just take a look before I sat down at the computer. GASP!!! Oh my goodness! It was like a giant lint party was overtaking the inside lining of my dryer!!!

I was too far gone at that point. Once I had seen the lint there was no way my DRS would let me walk away. The unfortunate thing about this lint buildup is that it is caught in a very narrow but deep opening between the dryer barrel (I have no idea if this is correct terminology) and the outside covering of the dryer. My weapon of choice was this long bristly wire thingy that could fit down between the opening and attract lint to it's bristles. It worked ok, but 1 hour later I knew that if I was going to fully conquer the fuzzy laundry droppings I would need a new tool.

I decided it was too late to get on the Internet and search out the perfect lint trapping device so I decided it was time for some creative thinking. Long story short I ended up making a lint cleaning gizmo out of a hanger and lint roller tape. I used the bristle brush to sweep the lint into a pile and then sent the hanger in to collect as much lint as it could. I almost went through an entire lint roller and the job was still not done. The last tool I sent in was a swiffer cloth taped to the above hanger to dust out the area.

If you shine a light down the hole you will still see some lint remains but after 2.5 hours hunched over my dryer trap door, I decided it wasn't healthy to continue. I need to conserve energy because tomorrow I have already warned my DH we are moving the washer and dryer out to mop underneath... no telling what we'll find.

WARNING: If you suspect you have any form of DRS DO NOT peek inside your lint trap door- unless your ready to go to war! You have been warned!

PS I did take pictures throughout the delinting process but I have lost the cord that connects my camera to the computer. Sorry!

Product of the Week

This week I am featuring the Pear as the product of the week. To be honest the pear has never been one of my favorite fruits, in fact I don't even like pear jelly beans. But I picked some up the other day at Kroger because they were on sale and me oh my..... DELICIOUS! So juicy!

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 5 oz Pear

Calories: 80

21g Carbohydrate

4g Fiber

Pears are also a good source of Vitamin C and Copper which makes them a good antioxidant!

Go grab a pear and enjoy!

Wellness Accountability

Here is where you can post your wellness goals for the week or month.

Wellness Wednesday

Today I will be traveling back from our vacation and did not have time to write up a Wellness Wednesday tip so I decided to let my national organization do the job for me today (after all I pay my yearly dues). In honor of National Heart Month the American Dietetic Association is focusing on heart health. Go here to see a list of foods that have shown to have heart health benefits.

The Car Zone- Enter at your own risk!

Warning: The pictures below contain very disturbing images. Donna's of the World- look away!

As mentioned in the introduction to this week's Tidy Tuesday I cleaned out my car before we left on vacation. As you can see in the pictures below it was long overdue. The sad thing is I had already taken out a load of junk before I thought to take pictures.

This is a picture of the passenger side front seat. You can see the Quiznos coupons

and several empty food packages I used for label demonstrations (several months ago!)

I don't know why I can't get this picture bigger but if I could you could see that the

junk was overflowing into the shifting station of the consul- safe huh!

This is a picture of the backseat floorboard. This is the junk my 4 year old had

to climb over in order to get into his carseat- poor kid!

This is a picture of most of the junk (some went directly into the trash can) that I pulled out of the car. What you can't see from the above illustrations is the smell. My keen sense of smell sensed the aroma was a distinct mixture of mildew from the many spilled water bottles that have tumbled out of the flimsy cup holder over the past few months and sour milk from the very "colorful" sippy cup found underneath the front seat.

I know your totally grossed out right now, but this story does have a happy ending! Please continue....

After removing all the junk, me and the car visited a local car wash. There I did some pretty impressive acrobatics trying to maneuver the big vacuum tube throughout the car before my allotted time was up! Talk about a work-out!

Ta Da! Nice and clean!

Now I could even fit a passenger into the front seat. But if your needing a ride anywhere, now is the time to ask- I can't guarantee I'll have a front seat available for long!!!!

Stay tuned... You'll learn more about "my car" on Thrifty Thursday!

Tidy Tuesday- Accountability

Ok all you Tidy Tuesday Girls. Here is where you will check in throughout the week when you have done your zone work or your own plan for keeping a tidy house. Remember you can leave a comment at the first Mr. Linky option or link to your own blog with the second option.

Zone 5- Outside, Laundry, Garage, Car

Day 1- Tuesday

• Wipe down Washer and Dryer
• Organize Laundry cabinets
• Sort through and toss all out of date medications

Day 2- Wednesday

• Clean Laundry Floors
• Clean behind washer and dryer (odd months only)
• Clean out Lint trap (even months only)
• Clean Trash Can

Day 3- Thursday

• Clean out all of car clutter
• Vacuum inside of car
• Clean carseats
• Wipe dust off dashboard and paneling
• Wash car

Day 4- Friday

• Organize garage closet
• Organize tools and tool bench
• Organize right side of garage (odd months)
• Organize left side of garage (even months)
• Sweep out garage

Day 5- Saturday

• Clean up flower-beds
• Change wreath on door
• Sweep Porch

Tidy Tuesday

Woo Hoo this is the last of the five zones! In theory, at the end of this week our homes should be spring cleaned from top to bottom and in perfect order. In reality, at least at my house, each zone begins to fall apart the second I enter a new zone. Let me just tell you, my kitchen (zone 1) has been screaming for a bath since the start of zone 3! But I am not ready to give up on my zone cleaning or day tasks. I have to believe that one day I can and will conquer the house, or I'm afraid I will just completely give up and soon the dirt and clutter will overtake my household and my children will forevermore be lost in a sea of dirty socks and misplaced toys. Thus I press on.....

This week's zone is actually the zone that I most often neglect- Laundry Room, Garage, Car, and Outside. Too often if I don't think the kitchen can go another week without major attention I will just skip zone 5 altogether. This month, I will not be completing all of zone 5 because we are currently out of town- but no fear I did hit some of the zone before I left to provide the blog with some interesting reading material (stay tuned). Plus, my car was becoming a bit of a driving hazard because the passenger's side clutter had started migrating up and over the consul which was making shifting my standard 2-door car quite difficult.

Deal Alert

It's a new month and that means new coupons on coupons.com. And guess what? They reset the Cottenelle TP coupon so that means two more packages of FREE toilet paper at Kroger!!!! Check out the coupons.com sidebar to print coupons or visit coupons.com for a complete list of available coupons for the month.

Pumpkin Pancakes

If you have ever made Bisquick pancakes then you'll know how to make this recipe. I hit a sale on canned pumpkin around Thanksgiving last year and decided to try adding it to the mix- it turned out real yummy. This is a quick, inexpensive meal!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Reduced Fat Bisquick
Egg
Milk (according to Bisquick box)
15 oz can Pumpkin

Mix pancakes according to Bisquick package. Add pumpkin. Make pancakes according to package. That's it folks.

Nutrition Information
Coming at the end of the week, sorry again!

As a special treat try topping with 25 Calories worth of Rediwhip and Sugar Free maple Syrup! We will also be having this with turkey bacon but sliced ham would be an even better choice.

Taco Roll

Big thanks to Tori for introducing this recipe to my family many years ago. This is a very simple recipe but might be hard to describe so I promise to post pictures to illustrate steps at the end of this week.

Taco Roll

2 cans of Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Sirloin
Taco Seasoning
2% Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Salsa or Diced Tomatoes
Jalapeno Peppers (optional)
Fat Free Sour Cream (optional)

Brown beef, rinse and drain. Add taco seasoning. Unroll crescent rolls into triangles and then position triangles in a ring around a pizza pan. Pointy end of triangles sticking out of the ring. (This is where the pictures will come in handy- huh!) Spread seasoned beef around the ring. Wrap the pointy end of the crescent rolls up and over the beef. Bake in oven according to crescent roll package instructions and rolls are golden. Serve topped with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and if desired jalapeno peppers and/or fat free sour cream.

Nutrition Information:
Once again I will post this information by Friday once I am home and able to analyze ingredient labels. Thanks for your patience.

I will serve this with Black Beans.

Tuna Mushroom Casserole

Ok, you are completely on your own on this recipe. I am not allowed to even say the word tuna around my husband, much less bring it into our home. I think it is the smell that gets him, but anyways needless to say I won't be making this recipe. I hear, however, that people really like tuna casseroles so I thought this would be the perfect week to include it in the meal plan. There were a lot of tuna casserole recipes on the Internet to choose from, however the pickings got pretty slim when I tried to find one with less then 400 Calories per serving. Hope you like the one I selected! If you do try this recipe, please consider giving your honest feedback in a comment.

Click here for the recipe.

Tuna Mushroom Casserole

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
Meal Plan: Calories: 323, 2.5 meats, 2 starches, 1.5 fat

I would think this would go good with steamed broccoli.

White Chicken Chili

Your gonna love this recipe. My family was first introduced to this yummy chili just days after we brought Cohen home from the hospital. Our Sunday School class brings a week worth of meals to every family after the birth of a new baby and we just happened to be the lucky family who had Jamie on their rotation. She brought us a big hot pot of this chili along with a skillet of fresh out of the oven cornbread- we finished every last bite and considered getting pregnant again just to see if we could get another pot in 9 months (ok, that was a little bit of an exaggeration- but it was really good!)
Since then I have had to call Jamie 3 different times for the recipe because I keep losing it once I write it down. So Jamie, you'll be excited to know it will forevermore be stored on the www, right where I will know where to find it. (I did forget exactly how long you are supposed to let it simmer, but was too embarrassed to call Jamie AGAIN so keep that in mind if you decide to make this dish)

White Chicken Chili

2 chicken breast boiled and shredded
2 cans Great Northern Beans
2 cans Shoepeg Corn
1 can Rotel
1 can Reduced Fat Cream of Mushroom
1 can Reduced Fat Cream of Chicken
1 lb 2% Velveeta
2 Tbs. Butter
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 cup diced Onion
Garlic to taste
1 cup Chicken Broth

Mix all but the Velveeta together and simmer on stovetop for 45 min to 1 hour. Chop Velveeta into cubes and add to chili the last 30 minutes. Stir often. Serve.

Note: I have not tried this recipe in the crockpot but I'm sure it would work great. I bet you could even put your chicken in raw and just add more broth. I would cook on low all day. But again DO NOT add your Velveeta until the end or the cheese will curdle! I will not be making this recipe this week second to our vacation but I promise to try it in the crockpot next time i make it and I'll let you know how it works. If you give it a try please leave us a review.

Nutrition Information
I will have this information for you by Thursday, Sorry!

Mealtime Monday

Welcome to the first week of February Mealtime Mondays. This week is going to be a little different in that I am not home to prepare the meals to let you know how long it takes to prep for the week. However, looking at the recipes I think it is safe to say you will easily be able to prep for all 5 dishes in less then 1.5 hours. I do apologize that I neglected to look at the nutrition information for 3 of the recipes before I left, so I will get that information to you when I get home.

If I was to prep for the week here is the order and storing guide I would follow:

Monday Night: Taco Roll- Prepare ring and loosely place foil around pizza pan and place in refrigerator until ready to bake.

Tuesday Night: Simple Spinach Lasagna- Cover unbaked lasagna and place in fridge until ready to bake.

Wednesday Night: Pumpkin Pancakes- If I did prep for this meal I would simply prepare batter and store in fridge; however this is a meal that is so quick to put together that I would probably just prepare the night I serve.

Thursday Night: White Chicken Chili- I would mix all ingredients into a freezer Gallon Ziplock bag and place in freezer. I would transfer chili from freezer into refrigerator Wednesday morning to thaw.

Friday Night: Out or leftovers

Saturday Night: Out or leftovers

Sunday Afternoon: Tuna Casserole: Prepare and place unbaked casserole in freezer. Transfer from freezer to fridge on Saturday morning.

Mealtime Monday Accountability Sound-off!

If you wanted accountability for weekly meal planning here is where you will sound off for the week. Remember you certainly don't have to follow my meal plan but simply need to have a goal to prepare at least 3 dishes for your family at home this week. Once you have planned your week of meals come here and let us know about it. Feel free to leave a simple comment or link to your own blog.

Just checking in

Hi! Sorry I haven't been around today. Hope everyone had a GREAT Sunday. Didn't you just love the message Emily had for us today. I am going to start looking for God's Miracles and claiming His Power! Thanks again, Emily.

Deal Alert

Just last Friday a couple of you girls were talking about how expensive stainless steel BPA water bottles were so I thought of you when I saw Thrifty Mama had a deal alert on this particular bottle.

Right now you can get this eco-friendly Brushed Stainless Steel 700 ml BPA Free water bottle for $5.45 + SH at amazon.com You can find out more details on this bottle by typing in "eco-friendly stainless steel water bottle" at the amazon link found on the sidebar of this blog.

Trials or Triumps? Guest Post

TRAILS OR TRIUMPHS? The choice is mine. Which will I choose?

Some of you might know me and others not, but I have volunteered to help Niki complete this weeks Sonday Sunday due to her fabulous vacation she is on! I have had several years of trials, as one might call it, but for me I am choosing now to call it triumphs. I was a once “wanna be” Donna Reed and thought I had my life in order when God had different plans for me. He has taken me through many journeys and I am still along for the ride. The main thing God has taught me is that I have a choice in life of whether to embrace these trials and use them for His glory or not too and be a very sad, lonely person. I am not at all saying that each day is easy at embracing this, but God reveals His presence and power to me daily and all I have to do is ask. He is always faithful, never changing, loves me unconditionally, and can work miraculously in all of our lives.

Now if I had my own blog I could journal weekly and slowly fill you in on my “story” but to not get into too much information or make this so long you are snoring at the end, I will try to condense it to the points I feel like God is laying upon my heart. Life until 4 years ago (before the birth of my son) was similar to Donna Reed’s or at least I thought so. My husband was perfect, our marriage seemed perfect, I tried to keep our house perfect, I tried to keep myself perfect, I loved my perfect little job, I tried to spend time with God daily and for sure in the morning b/c that seemed to be the “perfect” time to do that, I served at church and other organizations, and tried to act and behave perfectly to everyone. My DH (dear husband) might differ on some of these comments.

Then we begin to want a family and I assumed this would happen perfectly. We tried for over a year and had surgery for endometriosis and finally conceived a child. A few days after a positive pregnancy test I was told I was miscarrying but then miraculously did not. At week 28 of my pregnancy I was put on bed rest for contractions and had to quit my job and then delivered my baby boy early He had to stay in the hospital for a week because his lungs were underdeveloped. THEN we finally got to bring that miracle baby home and once again I assumed my “perfect” life would resume with our new addition to our family. I thought I had conquered all these obstacles and honestly felt like after we got our son home that the valley would turn into a mountain! I remember thinking how blessed we had been to have gone through so much and see God’s miracles and to experience a deeper, closer relationship with Him.

Now as I look back I see that was just the beginning of the journey that was preparing me for the biggest challenge of my life. Soon postpartum depression set in and I battled that minute by minute and learned a lot about not being “perfect” anymore and that God wanted to use me to be REAL to others and help them. That was a very humbling experience but one I don’t even hesitate to share now. Then the pain, fatigue, bladder infections, etc. started to creep in. No doctors around could put their finger on what was causing this or what was going on. I had been an avid runner, always in shape and even pushed our son in a 5K shortly after giving birth. Slowly my pain stopped me from doing the things I thought were my “love” in life. God had bigger plans and I had to put my “Donna Reed” persona aside and let my husband, my family, and friend’s ministry to me. I was battling a chronic illness that is said to be incurable but there are treatment options that can help. I began to research my heart out searching for answers, I saw every doctor and tried every medication and procedure known and some not even tried before in this area, and finally found the ONLY answer that would heal my body and soul: MY Jesus.

No, my house wasn’t perfect anymore and I couldn’t keep up with my zones (Niki and I competed on these). My marriage wasn’t as perfect as I thought it was suppose to be and somehow I couldn’t find the time or energy for those romantic getaways and surprises. I couldn’t get up early in the morning anymore and have my daily quiet time or even run with my friends that were huge encouragers. I was doing good just making it through the day taking care of my son. After two years of chronic pain, major hormone changes, life as I knew it no longer existed, BUT at this moment I am happy to say “TO GOD BE THE GLORY.” God is still at work in my life and expecting He will be until I see Him in eternity. I have learned that if he isn’t working in our lives and teaching us be victorious in the storms, then we are not learning much and how boring would that be!!!!! (now don’t get me wrong there are many days I wish I could call boring) How boring would it be if my life was “perfect” as I thought and wanted it to continue to be? Would I really be growing with God? Would I be ministering to anyone except making them feel like their life should measure up to a “perfect” life that really doesn’t exist? Would I have been blessed with some new friendships that have literally “carried” me through some very dark, trying times? Would I have ever been on that receiving end of being ministered by my church family that was so overwhelming it brought me to tears? Would I trade any of this hardship, pain, sadness for that “old” perfect Donna Reed life? Absolutely NOT! God is more real, I am more real, and He is still working on me! Those small things that I thought were my “loves” in life are just that…SMALL THINGS.

So for those of you that are reading this, be encouraged that no matter what life brings us with Jesus by our side we WILL prevail. If we didn’t go through the valleys we wouldn’t see any mountains and rainbows. If you are in the “pit” right now, know I am praying for you. Today I am lifting up prayers for all of you that are ready this blog and that God will ministry to you in an amazing way that you would never expect. That has been the joy of my trials, is to see God at work and to see the little “blessings” he puts in my life each day to lift my soul and others. I challenge you to take the time today to think about what you are going to do with the trails in your life. Take the time to stop and listen to God and see the blessings in front of you. Don’t miss out on that card or phone call from a friend that God might have used to encourage you, a scripture or words straight from God’s book, a rainbow after the rain storm, a flower blooming before you eyes that you never thought could represent the “new” life God is giving you in Him, the smile or words from your child that God could only orchestrate, help from your husband around the house or with your children, or blogs like Niki’s that is being used to minister to others. I want to end with this scripture to claim this week and to all of you that are struggling. I choose to believe in the miracles He has performed and will continue to perform in my life. May God richly bless each and every one of you.

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people.” Psalm 77:14

Emily McCarron